I Came From Pallet Town
by lollnno
Summary: An alternate look at the events of the first generation of Pokemon games. Several creative liberties are taken with the characters and events for the purpose of telling my story, which is absolutely riddled with conspiracy and betrayal. Rated M for violent events and language planned to take place later in the story, although the early chapters are fairly tame in content.


**Chapter One: The Origin Story**

It all began with a single question. Three words. "What is M2?"

That question continued to run through my head, over and over, as I skimmed through the files on my Pokedex. The files I stole, the files that had become my obsession. I sat outside the Viridian City Pokémon Center, taking a small sip of a healing potion – it was a bitter tonic, and had no effect on my health, but it took the edge off. At my feet, a Bulbasaur relaxed with his eyes half-lidded, and a Rattata scratched at his fur, cleaning it of the dirt he'd gathered during the day's training. It was a long journey ahead of us, and we'd need to be ready.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning.

For the first twenty years of my life, it was only my mother and I. I grew up in a small town in the Kanto region, the tiny hamlet known as Pallet Town. I had never met my father. He abandoned my mother when she was still pregnant, leaving the two of us to fend for ourselves. Fortunately, the people of Pallet were kind, and supported us until I was old enough to contribute. She worked at the PokéMart in Viridian until I was eleven, when a random Pokémon attack on Route 1 crippled her. She forbade me from ever setting foot outside of town after that.

So I went to Professor Oak, Pallet's only claim to fame. An acclaimed Pokémon researcher, Oak had his small laboratory set up in Pallet. I practically begged him for work. I was only a child, but I insisted that I could still assist him. Taking pity on our situation, he agreed to give me a job. All I did was clean up the lab, making sure it was completely spotless and organizing his files and books.

Three weeks ago, he made the mistake of leaving me on my own while he ran an errand. His computer had been left on, and I thought to shut it off. But my eye was drawn to a folder on the desktop. A single letter and a single number. I shouldn't have given it a second look – his filing system had become second-nature to me by now, and there was nothing unique about this particular file.

The folder was simply labeled "M2."

I didn't realize what I was doing until I had already read three pages of the files inside. Most of it went over my head – scientific nonsense that I had no chance of understanding. But still I read, flipping through page after page, photo after photo, chart after graph after cross-reference to other folders and research, nothing but information and data and words and -

Dad.

Right there in front of me, posing in a group photograph. A much younger Professor Oak, several other men who were strangers to me, and right there, standing on the left side of the picture, my father. It had to be – he looked exactly like he did in all of my mother's photo albums.

Something had drawn me to these files, and now I was looking at my father, someone that I didn't even know even _met_ Professor Oak. It couldn't have been a coincidence that I had been reading so obsessively.

I took a flash drive off the desk and filled it to the brim. The entire M2 folder, as many of the cross-referenced files as I could find, and a few others from Oak's hard drive just to be safe. I needed all the information I could get now. I had to understand what these files were and what they meant, or at the very least, find someone who could explain it to me.

The next three weeks were a haze of insomnia. I didn't go to Oak's lab at all during that time; at first I told him I was sick, then nothing. I could tell that my mother was worried, that the other residents of Pallet were worried, but it didn't matter. I read the files again and again, and slowly all the information inside started to make sense. Or at least enough that I could stumble my way through it.

With a bit of research, I was able to identify two of the men in the picture. The first was another scientist, a former colleague of Oak's named Blaine Katsura. From what I could tell he was still an active researcher, based nearby at Cinnabar Island, with only a few miles of ocean keeping me from him. He also appeared to be a Pokémon League representative, having assumed the role of Cinnabar Gym Leader four years ago. Unfortunately, not one person in Pallet owned a boat, so a simple trip to Cinnabar was out of the question, at least from here. I'd have to find some other way there.

The other man was Matthias Surge, a lieutenant in the Kanto military and veteran of the Kanto/Johto war over twenty years ago. Like Blaine, he was a Pokémon League Gym Leader, representing Vermilion City. If I couldn't get to Blaine, he'd be my next bet. The trip was a bit roundabout, but I could head north near Pewter City and take the natural tunnel directly to Vermilion. It would only take a few days at most, and I'd have all the answers I could want.

If I had a Pokémon to protect myself, that is.

Returning to Oak's lab, I made my intentions clear. I told him that I knew about the M2 project, and about Blaine, Surge, and my father. I told him that I planned on leaving Pallet to find them. He listened carefully, and asked me a single question. A question that I still don't have an answer to.

He asked me "Why?"

I couldn't say anything. I had nothing _to_ say. I didn't know why I had to find them, and I didn't know what I'd ask them when I did. Oak himself refused to answer any of my questions, only repeating what I already knew. After an hour of pointless discussion, I turned around to leave.

"Wait!" he called out, and I stopped in my tracks. "I can't stop you from leaving Pallet. You're a grown man now, and it's entirely your decision. But I can't let you to alone, it's too dangerous. Please. Take one of these." he said, and when I turned, he had set three Pokéballs on the desk in front of him. In one was a Bulbasaur, a strange frog-like creature with a seed growing out of its back. Another held a Charmander, a bipedal lizard with a flaming tail. And the third contained a Squirtle, a small blue turtle-squirrel-thing.

After some brief consideration, I chose the Bulbasaur. It seemed like the best pick, since my path would take me through a forest filled with poisonous bugs and then a tunnel filled with ground-element Pokémon, and a Bulbasaur would easily be able to deal with them both. It was likely only a quick trip, anyway. Oak suggested that I give the Bulbasaur a name to help him bond with me and respond to my commands in battle, and I gave him the name Eddie.

With Eddie at my heels, I set out for Route 1, the first leg of my new journey. A few wild Pokémon jumped out at us, but Eddie was able to fight them off well enough, although he was totally exhausted by the time we arrived at Viridian, only an hour away from Pallet. It was obvious that Eddie wouldn't be able to carry me on this journey alone; the effort of combat would simply fatigue him too much. He'd need partners, a team who could fight alongside him and pick up some of the responsibility so he could rest.

Counting all the money I had put aside for myself from working with Oak, I entered the PokéMart and bought a small handful of Pokéballs and some healing potions, then left for the outlying areas to catch a partner for Eddie. The very first Pokémon I encountered was a small Rattata, a tiny mouse-like creature who snapped his teeth fiercely at us. He'd do.

Before long, I had my second team member, and gave him the name Ratigan. We spent the rest of the day training on Route 1, making sure to keep to the edge of the grass so we could retreat to the Pokémon Center for healing if needed. By the time the sun started to go down, both Eddie and Ratigan seemed to have the hang of combat, even if they were a bit hesitant to obey my commands – especially Ratigan, which was understandable. I had just taken him from his home, after all.

I made a mental note to myself to return Ratigan to his home once this was all over. It wouldn't be fair to just keep him, to abduct the small creature and force him to serve me without any promise of reward. That wouldn't be a problem; I'd be back to Pallet within the week.

This was just going to be a quick trip.


End file.
